One By One
by Thekillerduckie
Summary: When Raphael is captured by Shredder himself, he didn't think he would see his brothers ever again. Boy, was he wrong. (graphic gore/blood scenes and a few swears. maybe a few headcanons)
1. Foot In The Sewers

It was dusk in New York City. The clouds were indigo layers that contrasted the yellow street lights perfectly. The sounds of birds returning to their nest and people returning to their homes were quiet throughout the concrete jungle. Unfortunately, below in the city's sewer system, it was quite the opposite.  
Two mutant turtles kneeled silently as they watched the other two spar. A mutant rat was watching from a safe distance.  
There was a thump and a certain red banded turtle fell to the floor. His blue banded opponent smirked with pride and turned to his master. Suddenly, a loud cry was heard and Raphael launched himself in Leonardo's direction. After barrel rolling, Raphael pinned his brother to the floor.  
"That's the last time I lose to you Leo!" Raph held his fist in the air as Leo twitched in fright. Before he could bring it down, a furry paw grabbed his wrist softly.  
"That is enough Raphael. As a ninja you must do no harm, especially to your brothers." Splinter let go of his son's wrist and Raph just huffed and left the dojo.  
"Well that was interesting." Leo stated as Splinter helped him up. "Thanks Sensei." Leo smiled.  
Splinter returned it and turned on his heel. "I will leave you to sort this out, my sons." He spoke over his shoulder. "Yet do not add more fuel to the fire as it is strong enough already."  
The two kneeling brothers stood up and all three bowed in unison to their master.  
"You okay, Leo?" The purple banded one asked.  
"I'm used to it." Leo let out a small smile.  
"Dude, I've never seen him do that before. I mean he's gone to hit you but he's never been that much of a sore loser and on top of that-" The youngest orange banded turtle gave his brother a confusing look when he cut him off.  
"I get it, Mikey." Leo did a mental face palm. "Come on, I'm gonna watch space heroes, wanna join?"  
At this Donatello and Michelangelo cringed; they hated space heroes.  
"Ah, um, I'm need to finish my lab project." And with that Donnie scuttled away.  
Leo let out a sigh, "Mikey?" He turned to face his brother but there was no sight of him. He turned fast enough to see his little brother rush out the dojo.  
"LeoImSorryButSpaceHeroesSuck!" He let out in one breath.  
Leonardo sighed again. At least I'll have some sort of peace and quiet for now. He thought.

Raphael had finally finished 200 punches on his punching bag and was debating which brother he could chat with.  
Leo? No way! He is what got him in this mess in the first place.  
Donnie? His scientific intellect and choice of words would probably anger him more.  
Mikey? Yeah why not? Play some video games... But he might hate him for how he spoke to Leo.  
Suddenly Raph got a tiny twinge of pain. He looked down at his hands and saw his busted, bleeding knuckles. Donnie it is then. He thought and made is way to the lab.

"Just add a drop of hydrochloric acid and..." Donnie was concentrating his hardest when his lab door banged open. "Ah!" Donatello jumped and accidentally let out a lot of acid. The mixture he was working on fizzed and turned to black foam.  
"Ugh Mikey! How many times-" Donnie was surprised at who entered his lab. "Raph? What the shell dude? You ruined my experiment! You're as bad as Mikey." He muttered the last part and lowered his gaze and he sighed. "Punching bag?"  
Raph sheepishly nodded and Donnie threw him some bandages and cream.  
"I would do them but they don't look that bad and you ruined this, so it's seems fair." Donnie smirked. "Besides I'm sure you wouldn't want your younger brother patching you up, big tough Raphie can do it himself." He saw Raph's eyes twitch at that last point.  
"You know I hate that name." His voice was filled with so much venom.  
"You know I love my experiments so yeah whatev- Ah!" The sound of the lab door shut with such a loud bang Donnie practically fell out his chair.  
"Brothers." He muttered and went back trying to fix his experiment.

Raphael stormed out of the lab on the verge of blind rage. First Leo now Donnie? All of a sudden his youngest brother appeared from behind him with a bright smile  
"Hey Raphie-boy!" His smile faded when Mikey saw his brother's expression. "What's up?"  
That sent him over the edge. That little question made him think of everything that's happened this evening. Raph clenched his fists and let out a mighty roar. What happened next was a blur. Flashes of red appeared in his eyes as he swung his fists around wildly. He came into contact with something and a short but loud yelp followed. As soon as he focused again, his brother was beneath him holding his plastron. Deep, quick breaths came from Mikey as his eyes welled with tears. Raph didn't know what to do.  
"Mikey, bro, I'm sorry!" He crouched and put a hand on his shoulder still shocked and in fear for his little brother's safety.  
He cant believe he hurt his baby brother. He had just asked what was wrong and boom he was on the floor in seconds.  
"Ugh," Mikey's voice came out raspy. "It's...fine dude. Ughhhh, lemme...catch my breath." He winced as he breathed in. A couple of tears left his eyes.  
"I-uh-um- I'll get Donnie." Raph suggested in a panicky tone. Normally Mikey would say 'no, it's not that bad' and just get up. But this time, he agreed. He must be really hurt bad.  
Raph didn't want to leave Mikey struggling on the floor but he had to get Donnie. He stood up and took a few steps from Mikey towards the lab.  
"Donnie!" Raph practically screamed. "Get your shell in here!"  
Donnie's head popped around the lab door and glanced around. As soon as he saw Mikey on the floor, he was constantly asking questions.  
"What happened?!"  
"What did you do?!"  
"Mikey, what's wrong?!"  
"Raph!" Donnie turned to Raph with anger in his eyes. "What. Did. You. Do." His voice filled with venom.  
"I-uh-I..." Raph started.  
"Ugh save it, Raph." Donnie turned away and crouched down to Mikey. "Go do something that doesn't bother us."  
Raph started to leave but he took a small glance back.  
Donnie had his tongue out in concentration whilst his eyes were still filled with anger.  
But Mikey, he was looking at Raph, with pain in his eyes but a smile upon his face. He mouthed "I'll be fine." Which made Raph relax a little. His little brother had no failure making him happy.  
Raph turned back and went to his room; the place he knew he could stay in control, and waited for evening patrol

It was only an hour after the incident with Mikey and Raph was already losing it. He wanted to go see if his brother was okay but he didn't want to cause any more trouble. Raphael lay on his bed looking up at the ceiling.  
If only I had I still had Spike. He thought to himself as closed his eyes. Raph didn't want to sleep but he found himself drifting off.  
Dream  
"Ugh" Raph rubbed his head. "Where the heck am I?" He said as he looked around.  
Raph stood up and looked out a window. There was a vast black sky filled with stars that almost looked...cartoonish?  
"Commander Grundch!" A loud voice bellowed. Raph turned and felt himself fill with horror. He was going to kill Leo after this.  
Standing before him was Captain Ryan from space heroes. Crankshaw and Dr. Mindstrong were behind him.  
Suddenly a stop slap came to his face.  
"Commander Grundch, are you with us?" Raph looked down and saw he was in a space heroes outfit. He really hated Leo now.  
"Uh, um, yeah?" Raph replied to Captain Ryan.  
"Because of you, Crankshaw is injured! You mustn't return to the ship until you can control your anger!" He shouted.  
"I haven't got anger issues!" Raph shouted back. "Ugh forget it." He muttered as he took the solo ship out for a spin.

After what felt ages, Raph decided to get back to that ship, maybe it could get him back to reality. But when he got back to where he thought the ship was, it wasn't there. Instead dozens of Zaxatrons were in its place. Raph soon found himself surrounded.  
A message suddenly came through the speakers, startling him.  
"Give in pathetic commander!" It's voice bellowed and it sounded very familiar. "For you are surrounded and soon we will capture the rest of your crew!"  
Raph went to put in a retort but he soon realised who the voice belonged to.  
The Shredder.  
His brothers began to replace the space heroes crew as he saw them crying out in pain.  
"Commander Grundch!" Captain Ryan's voice had became Leo's as well as the face. "I just want to say...ugh...don't blame yourself." His voice faded as he disappeared.  
"I know we rarely talk, Commander," Dr Mindstrong was now Donnie. "But you were the greatest Commander I have ever known." He too, like Leo, disappeared.  
The last one left was Crankshaw. He looked like he was going to burst into tears any minute.  
But even though he resembled Raph's youngest brother in so many ways, he stayed silent, bowed his head and also disappeared.  
Raph felt lost. He had no idea what to do. Or what the shell this dream was trying to tell him.  
Raph suddenly got a chill down his spine. Not just a cold chill but a chill of fright. He turned around to a sight he couldn't imagine if he wanted.  
There, in front of him, was shred-head himself holding three masks: blue, purple and orange decorated with flecks of Crimson.  
Raph wanted to scream yet he couldn't. His throat was dry as if he hadn't drank for days.  
The shredder laughed. A mad man laugh. A sick mad man laugh.  
"At least the blood will blend into your mask, turtle." His deep voice was not muffled at all even though a mask covered half his face.  
Raph's eyes went as wise as saucers as Shredder raised his hand and brought it down for the kill.  
Reality  
Raph jolted awake with beads of sweat dipping from his head. He looked at his bed and it was all messy. He was obviously thrashing around.  
Raph rubbed his head. I wonder what that was all about he thought.  
He got up and walked out of his room to see all three of his brothers with the tv on but they were staring at him.  
"Why are you not ready?" Leo said sternly.  
"What?" Was Raph's reply.  
"I just knocked on your door and told you we're going on patrol in five minutes." Leo's voice had softened but had a lot of concern.  
"You don't look too good, dude" Mikey pointed out. "You look like what I look like after a nightmare... Did you have a nightmare?" Baby blue eyes were filled with concern. Raph lowered his gaze away from Mikey's eyes and saw a small bandage on his torso.  
At that point Raph's shoulders started to shake. He felt awful for what he did and his dream really didn't help.  
"Raph?" Donnie started. "Hey, don't get upset-" Raph cut him off  
"I'm not getting upset!" Raph snapped causing his brothers to jump. He saw the worries faces around him and softened his tone."I had a dream. Not just a nightmare but sort of like a warning."  
"What do you mean?" Leo pressed on.  
He didn't really want to say. He was never good at sharing feelings.  
"I-I just don't think we should patrol tonight." Raph looked down.  
Then, as if on cue, the tv show stopped to report breaking news.  
"Carlos Chiang O'Brien Gambe here. What seems to be robots/ninjas are terrorising the city! They're raiding shops, homes and even the sewer system! So stay indoors, hide your children and DON'T go outside. More news on this later."  
The turtles eyes were incredibly wide. The footbots were in the sewers?"  
"Okay ninjas!" Leo's usual confident voice was laced with fear. "We need a plan that makes us look like we don't live in the sewer."  
"But we do live in the sewer- Ow!" Raph smacked Mikey on the back of his head. Mikey looked up and pouted.  
Leo rolled his eyes and continued. "We need to split up into twos and one team takes the sewers and the others take topside. Then it looks like we knew the footbots were down here and we just sent two to go get them. Raph you can go topside with Mikey, Donnie you're with me and we'll stay down here. Okay? Let's go!"  
Raph and Mikey turned right out the lair whilst Donnie and Leo turned left.  
Whilst he was running, Raph still couldn't shake his uneasy feeling. 

Hi there! I'm new to Fanfic, but this isn't my first story! I would really appreciate reviews even constructive criticism! (I don't really know how to use it yet so bear with me!)

-Duckie


	2. No Answer

Whilst jogging through the sewers, Mikey decided to start a conversation.  
"Sooooo, about your dream thingy?" He looked towards Raph who seemed to be in a trance.  
"Raph!" He shouted.  
"Huh, what?" Raph looked around and when he finally got his bearings, he looked at Mikey with a quizzical look.  
"Dude, you zoned out. I just gonna ask what your dream was about."  
"Oh, it was nothing." Raph turned his gaze from his brother's.  
Mikey ran in front of Raph and turned so he was running backwards.  
"It wasn't nothing, I can tell. Please Raph, talk to me." He pleaded.  
Raph looked up and saw big, wet, baby blue eyes. He bit his lip, looked away again, then sighed.  
"Fine, but turn around, I don't want ya crashing into something."  
Mikey smiled and did as he was told.  
"Well, it was just sorta... Agh! Why is this so hard?" Raph facepalmed as Mikey chuckled.  
"Dude, just ease up. What happened from the start?"  
"Okay." Raph sighed in defeat. "It started where captain ry- Leo! No, just Leo!" He blushed in embarrassment, hoping Mikey didn't notice. "Leo, told me to get out of the lair because I hurt you and I need to calm myself down. I stormed off and when I came back, you guys were captured by the shredder. He then killed Leo, then Donnie, then you, and I was helpless to do anything. He then went for me but I woke up."  
Raph looked at his little brother in hopes he wouldn't be holding in a laugh. Yet what he saw was completely different: Mikey was looking at him so sympathetically with a small soothing smile on his face. Suddenly Mikey wrapped his arms around Raph and squeezed tightly. When he let go, Raph looked at him shocked.  
"I'm actually surprised you told me." Mikey let out a slight laugh, making Raph smile.  
They reached the manhole cover and climbed up. They then found the nearest fire escape and went up to the rooftops. Raph then turned to Mikey.  
"If you tell anyone about me going soft and what I said, I'll stuff your limbs so far into your shell, your only use will be a footrest." Mikey stepped back a bit but still kept a smile on his face.  
"Ah, so I am not the only one who wants to make furniture out of a couple of turtles."  
The brothers turned to where the strong Brazilian accent came from and took out their weapons. Raph growled and took a step in front of Mikey.  
"Fishface."

"I wonder how Raph and Mikey are getting along." Donnie said as he poked Leo with his bō staff another time.  
"Should we call them? I mean it's super quiet down here, I doubt anything is gonna happen." Leo sighed as he felt another prod on his leg. "Enjoying yourself?" He asked Donnie.  
"Having the time of my life." Donnie monotonously replied.

Back on the surface, Raph was staring down Fishface as he slowly moved his hands to his sais. However, Mikey was looking behind Fishface with a panicked expression on his face.  
"Raph?" Mikey whispered. "He's not alone."  
Raph glanced up, and sure enough, he saw all but one of Shredder's henchmen lifting themselves up from the side of the building.  
"Where's Tigerclaw?" Raph whispered back.  
"Right here!" A strong accent appeared behind them. As they turned around they saw Tigerclaw with his sword raised and an evil smile on his face.  
"Goodbye, turtles." Tigerclaw hissed as he swung his sword down.

"3,2,1. Ready or not here I- Donnie you're above me aren't you." Leo looked up to see Donnie with an embarrassed face. Leo face palmed as he let out a chuckle and sat down.  
"Hey, you try being this tall and being able to find a place to hide." Donnie smirked and sat opposite Leo. His smirk faded soon after. "Do you think we should see if Raph and Mikey need help?"  
Leo sighed, "Donnie, the news reporter said footbots were seen going into the sewers. We're sitting not too far from the lair so it can take a while for them to find us, we have to stay here."

Tigerclaw's sword aimed for Raph, who had his eyes closed waiting for the pain. But it never came. He opened his eyes to see Mikey holding his nunchuck across his head blocking the sword.  
Tigerclaw roared and jumped back. He eyed the orange banded turtle evilly as Rahzar and Fishface walked to his side. He could see the fear in the youngest turtle's baby blue eyes although he stood strong and brave.  
Without taking his eyes of the cat, dog and fish, Michelangelo backed up so his shell was touching his brother's.  
"Thanks Mikey." Raph whispered as he gave Shredder's other henchmen an evil glare.  
"No problem, bro." Mikey attempted to glance behind him to see his brother, completely forgetting about his unwanted company. As soon as Mikey remembered it was too late, his eyes widened as he heard a growl and claws scraping across the concrete. He flicked his eyes back to look front of him, only to see Rahzar charging full speed at him.  
"Oh snap!" Mikey yelled. He was frozen in place. If he moved the strike would hit his brother and if he didn't, it wouldn't be pretty. He closed his eyes and prepared himself for the hit.  
"What? What happ-"Raph started only to be cut off by his littlest brother's scream.  
Raph snapped his head round so fast he could have gotten shell-lash. As soon as he turned everything felt like it had gone into slow motion.  
In front of him was the horrific sight of Rahzar's claws buried deep into his brother's arm. His top claw managed to leave a small gash across Mikey's neck. Rahzar then ducked as Fishface came flying through the air and sent a powerful kick to Mikey's injured arm and side. Mikey skidded across the rooftop and came to a halt when his head crashed into the wall. A small pool of blood quickly formed underneath his head and a large amount trailed from his arm across his plastron.  
Raph was 100 percent sure Mikey had to be unconscious if not from the blood loss, then definitely from the hit to his head.  
"Mikey!" Raph screamed as he went to run to his brother's aid but was soon stopped by a hit from Bebop's laser hip gun. He then felt the two strong hands of Rocksteady lift him up and restrain him.  
As Raph came to his senses, his eyes widened as he saw Tigerclaw with a foot on Mikey's shell. He put more pressure on his shell as soon as he saw Raph's expression.  
"Listen closely turtle," The cat's voice low, yet calm. "You are going to come with us otherwise," he lifted Mikey so he was over the roof's edge. "the cub gets it."  
Raph felt a tear escape his eye, he had done nothing to protect his little brother. He could barely tell if he was still alive or not.  
'No.' he thought. 'I will not make that mistake again. I will protect you this time, little brother.'  
"Okay, okay." Raph's voice clearly stated fear, not for the foot, but for Mikey. "I'll go, just put Mikey down on this rooftop or I swear when I get my hands on you, I will pluck each whisker from your ugly face."  
Tigerclaw smirked. "Was that a threat?" He asked as he took one finger off Mikey's shell.  
Raph soon realised what was happening.  
He gritted his teeth. "No."  
"Good." Tigerclaw brought his arm back over the rooftop and dropped Mikey onto it. He nodded to Rocksteady, then, he, Rahzar, Fishface and Dorkster Soupcan jumped off the building, leaving Raphael with the pig and the rhino.  
"Hee hee! Don't ya just adore brotherly love?" Bebop laughed and walked over to Mikey.  
Raph's breathing got deep and slow.  
"What are you doing." He growled.  
Bebop knelt next to Mikey and placed his fingers on his neck; checking for a pulse.  
"Making sure he's not dead, jeez! Unless ya want him dead, then that can be arranged." Bebop smirked and turned his head to Mikey. "Yep still alive."  
Raph breathed a sigh of relief, but then got confused at Bebop's words.  
"Why don't you want him dead?"  
"Because, Master Shredder want it this way." Rocksteady's accent clear behind him. "He plan to capture you, and hurt you, then he squash you like the blueberry!"  
"Shut it, Rockhead!" Bebop yelled.  
"I is Rocksteady, not Rockhead." He complained.  
Whilst they were arguing, Raph heard a small groan from Mikey's direction. Raph silently encouraged his brother to wake up.  
Mikey's eyes opened slightly and he lifted his head. His vision was incredibly funny, but he could just make out the shapes of Bebop and Rocksteady. As his vision got slightly clearer he could make out a blob of green with a red stripe.  
"Raph?" He tried to say, but it came out as more of a desperate whisper.  
Raph managed to hear his brother's voice over the argue and he cringed at how soft and shallow it was.  
Before Raph could open his mouth, a deep Brazilian accent came from the ground.  
"Hey, how hard is it to knock a turtle out? Idiotas" Fishface loudly grumbled.  
"Oh yeah! I forgot about that!" Bebop said as he looked at Raph.  
Raph glared at Bebop but glanced away as he heard a raspy moan escape Mikey's mouth.  
Bebop followed his line of sight and saw Mikey helplessly laying there.  
"Ugh, now we have a witness. How about some turtle-football?" He smirked at Rocksteady.  
"Da! I loves me some turtle football!" He laughed.  
Raph started to get worried.  
"What are you doing? No! Don't go near him!" He screamed as he started to struggle.  
As the pig made his way over to Mikey's weak, hapless form, the youngest turtle's eyes painfully watched Bebop. He flicked his eyes to Raph as a tear travelled down his cheek.  
Raph's heart broke as his eyes were pleading at him to help him and carry him home.  
Raph's eyes were filling with tears themselves as he tried to struggle one more time.  
"You will not gets anywhere, little turtle." Rocksteady laughed.  
Bebop stopped about a metre away from Mikey and lifted his leg.  
"He shoots!" He swung his leg towards Mikey's already injured head. Raph screamed unable to do anything else.  
"He scores!" Bebop shouted as he walked away from Mikey. He lay there deathly still as his head wound reopened to let a trickle of blood make its way across his face. He lay there on his plastron with his injured arm tucked to the side of him, still not wanting to stop bleeding. His mouth was partly open and his eyes were shut.  
Raph was frozen in place. He felt as if a huge chunk of him had been ripped out. His head whipped round to Bebop as he stared him down.  
"Say bye byes, little turtle" Rocksteady said from behind as Bebop approached him.  
"You sick evil bas-" Raph started to scream but was suddenly consumed with darkness.

All he could see was darkness. Nothing more, nothing less. He made no attempt to open his eyes; his head hurt, his body weak, terrible images scarring his mind. He was barely conscious, he had been knocked out not long ago. All he could do was think about waking up before he remembered his brother. Tears welled up in his eyes as he couldn't feel anyone around him. He shouldn't have let this happen to him, he should have been there to help his brother. He had no clue what had happened to his brother after he had blacked out. He hoped he was okay. He could feel himself losing consciousness again. He stretched his arm out in attempt find his brother nearby. His brain was spinning, that movement was way too much. His body was too weak to hold his arm up so it fell to the ground and he let out a tiny yelp. He forced himself to open his eyes instead, expecting to find his brother fighting off Shredder's henchmen and running to his side to tell him why he was in so much pain. But when he was met with just the back of a ventilation shaft, baby blue orbs filled with worry. His vision was going fuzzy. He saw black spots swelling up his vision and as he blacked out once more, an attempt to call for his brother turned into a strangled gasp.  
"Raphie..."

Back down in the sewers, the atmosphere was eerily quiet.  
"I don't think those footbots were in the sewer at all." Donnie finally muttered.  
"I think you're right, Donnie." Leo sighed. "I'm gonna call Mikey to see if they've had any luck."  
Donnie nodded silently and sat down as Leo ran through contacts to find his youngest brother. He put the phone to his ear.  
One, two, three, four rings and it went to voicemail.  
"That's weird." Leo hung up and turned to Donnie.  
"What?" Donnie stood up.  
"Mikey always answers his phone on the first ring." Leo tried to call again but lost signal. "No signal, let's go topside."  
The two brothers started walking to the nearest manhole as Leo constantly tried to get signal.  
"Maybe he and Raph got in a fight?" Donnie suggested.  
"Even then he would answer his phone. I mean, I've seen him talk about skateboarding with Casey over the phone when we were fighting the Krangg once." Leo raised his phone high up and back to the floor in attempt to find signal.  
"Leo, chill out I'm sure they'll be okay. Mikey has Raph and Raph would never let anything happen to him, would he now?" Donnie place a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Just wait until we get topside, it's only a couple of minutes." He gave his trademark, gappy smile which Leo happily returned.  
"I guess you're right, a few minutes won't hurt."

Raphael cried silently as he rode to Shredder's lair in the back of a Bebop and Rocksteady van. It'd been 10 minutes since he woke up and all he had done since then was cry. It wasn't like the red banded turtle to do this, he never cried. He was always the strong one, the warrior, the protector. Yet, he had no reason to be strong anymore. He was certain his baby brother didn't make it, especially with that amount of blood loss. The more he thought about it, the more tears escaped his eyes. He couldn't think like that, he had to think positive, he had to think like Mikey.  
"He's safe," Raph muttered to himself. "Leo and Donnie found him, he was absolutely fine, just a little roughed up." Raph sniffled and wiped away his tears, then jumped as a heavy pounding was on the side of the van where the seats were.  
"Keeps it down in there! I is trying to listens to the music!" Rocksteady shouted as he turned the volume up.  
The red banded turtle shuffled away from the side as far as could move. The chains on his wrists and ankles made it so he could only move to about half way in the van. He placed his head in his hands and sighed deeply; tears threatened to spill again. He was so upset, he completely forgot the fact that he still had his t-phone with him.

The blue and purple banded turtles eventually made it to the surface and Leo took out his phone again.  
"Okay I have signal again, I'll call Mikey as we make our way up to the rooftops." Leo tapped on his phone a few times and put it to his ear.  
"Hey, why don't you call Raph?" Donnie whispered as he didn't want to disturb Leo.  
"Because he never answers, and sometimes he doesn't even take his T-Phone with him." Leo whispered back with a slight annoyance in his voice. His own phone rang four times when it went to Mikey's voicemail again.  
"Hey dudes, it's the Mikestar! Sorry, I can't talk I'm too busy being awesome somewhere else, leave a message!"  
"Hey Mikey, it's just me. Call me when you get this." Leo sighed and hung up.  
He turned to Donnie with worry flashing in his eyes.  
"I'm sure he's fine, just try to call Raph and if he doesn't answer, I'll track their t-phones." Donnie smiled back, attempting to hide his own concern.  
"Yeah sure, okay." Leo said softly as he dialled Raph's number.

Back in the van, the singing of Bebop and Rocksteady were annoying Raph to no end.  
"Hey nows, you is all star! Gets your game on, go to play!" Rocksteady bellowed deeply. "Hey nows, you is rocking star! Gets your show on, gets the paid!"  
"And alllll that glitters is golddddd!" Bebop followed after him in an incredibly high voice. "Only shooting stars break the-" he took a deep breath. "MOULDDDDDDD!" He wailed.  
"Da, that is what we is talking about." Rocksteady applauded him.  
Bebop smirked and held out a fist. Rocksteady did the same. Their fists connected as they both said "my man."  
Raph placed his hands over his ears as he waited for the next song. Then he heard a tune, closer to than him than he thought. He thought it was the start of a song, when it sounded all too familiar. Raph took his hands off his ears and he felt a buzzing in his belt.  
Raph soon realised what his was and his hands dashed to his belt to pull out his t-phone. He relaxed a little seeing it was Leo, he answered the call and put the phone to his ear.

"Raph?" Leo was surprised the call connected.  
"Leo!" Came the panicked whispered reply.  
"Why are you whisp-" Leo was cut off by Raph shushing him.  
"Is Mikey okay?" He sounded scared. This threw Leo off a little bit.  
"What do ya mean? He's with you isn't he?" Leo started to get worried. He nodded to Donnie, who understood and whipped out his t-phone to track the others.  
"Shit." Raph plainly stated.  
"Raphael, language!" Leo warned down the phone. He suddenly heard banging and two other voices, but before he could say anything, the broken voice of Raph came through.  
"Leo, you gotta listen up, I don't have time to talk." Leo could hear Raph start to cry but held his tongue. "We got in a fight with the foot, I got taken and I'm in the back of a van, but Mikey, h-he got seriously injured. Get to him first and make sure he's safe." More banging was heard as Leo's eyes started getting wet. "Leo, I have to go. Get Mikey." And with that he hung up.

As soon as Raph hung up, he completely forgot about telling Leo where Mikey was or the fact the foot was after them all. He was about to text him but the van came to a sudden halt and his phone slid to the back, out of Raph's reach. Before he could do anything, another bang came from the side.  
"Hey, turtle! Who were ya muttering to? I hope you ain't crazy!" Bebop shouted to him.  
Raph stayed silent, and Bebop went back to driving.  
He just hoped Mikey was safe.

Leo lowered his t-phone in shock. His immediate younger brother was taken by the foot and his youngest brother was "seriously injured" somewhere in the city.  
"Leo? What did Raph say? Where are they?" Donnie shook Leo's shoulder slightly which snapped him out of his trance. Tears welled in his eyes as he started to speak.  
"Raph's been taken by the foot." Donnie gasped but before he could say anything, Leo continued. "He said they got in a fight and Mikey is seriously injured. But he didn't tell me how injured."  
Donnie was as shocked as Leo as he finished up. Suddenly, his t-phone bleeped, indicating he had tracked one of his brother's phones.  
"Leo, I got Mikey's t-phone! He's two blocks from Dragon's gate." Donnie's head flicked up and Leo could see the worry in his eyes.  
"Let's go."

The two brothers made their way to where Mikey should've been, but they could not see him anywhere.  
"Are you sure he's here?" Leo asked, his eyes frantically darting from left to right.  
"100 percent! I don-" Donnie stopped dead in his tracks as he thought he heard a tiny yelp that sounded very familiar.  
"What's up D?" Leo asked but then got shushed by Donnie. Leo saw he was onto something and he focused to try and get what Donnie was getting.  
Just as Leo was about to tell Donnie it was nothing, a small weak voice came from behind a ventilation shaft.  
"Raphie..." 


	3. Thoughts

Raphael opened his eyes but closed them again when the bright light burned them.

'Ugh, my head. What happened?' He thought. Raph opened his eyes but kept at a squint.  
His emerald eyes slowly opened more as they adjusted to the light, but when he saw what was in front of him, it made him want to shut them again. Raphael tensed as a deep, throaty chuckle echoed across the stone room.

"Hello, Raphael."

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The blue and purple clad brothers whipped their heads round to the small voice. Behind the ventilation shaft was a small green arm sticking out with a lot of blood dripping along it.

They knew it was Mikey. How could it not be?

Feeling their big-brother instincts take over, they rushed over to him but stopped dead as soon as they saw the orange clad turtle. Mikey was laying their motionless with blood slowly oozing from his arm, neck and head. His breathing was weak and pain was contorted on his face. Leo felt like he was about to be sick and covered his mouth with his hands as tears spilled from his eyes. He had told Mikey and Raph to go to the surface, it was all his fault. He could've taken the surface and none of this would've happened. He had failed two of his little brothers. No, he wasn't fit to call them brothers, they deserved better than him. Leo turned his head away in shame as Donnie was already beside Mikey.

"Come on little bro, wake up for me." Donnie pleaded as he attempted to wrap a bandage around Mikey's arm. "Just open your eyes, make a sound, anything Mikey!"  
Donnie started to panic as nothing was happening until a small groan snapped him out of it.

"D-Donnie?" Mikey barely gasped out. His half-closed baby blue eyes were staring at his immediate older brother as he tried to put a small smile on his face.

"Oh thank god," Donnie muttered as he breathed a sigh of relief. "Yeah, it's me Mikey. Listen, can you try and stay awake for me? I need to get you back to the lair."  
Mikey closed his eyes and opened them again in acknowledgement, when suddenly a thought made his eyes shoot wide open.

"Where's Raph?!"

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Raph growled as he was face to face with the Shredder. He wanted to know what was going on, where he was, were his brothers okay?

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. After all I am the one in power, and you are but a lowly _animal_ locked away like you should be." Shredder hissed as he brought his face close to the cell bars.  
Raph glared at him with pure hatred then glanced around. He was right, he was locked in the cell that his sister was once in when they rescued her.

"Where are my brothers?" Raph growled again.  
You could see the smirk in Shredder's eyes as he turned away from the red banded turtle and headed for the door.

"I heard your little brother was on death's door and your other brothers are there with him." He stopped and looked over at Raph. "It would be a shame if something were to happen to them."  
He laughed as he saw the young turtle's face twist from slight relief to pure horror.

"Don't you dare touch them!" Raph shouted at him before he left.

"Oh don't worry," He stepped out the door. "I'll give them a night or two to say goodbye to your repulsive rat master." With that he strode away leaving a horrified Raphael.

 **TMNTTMNTMNTMNTMNTMNTMNT**

Leo couldn't even look at his little brother let alone tell him about Raph. So, he continued to stay silent and let Donnie do all the talking. Donnie caught on to this and gave a frustrated sigh. Leo's the eldest, he should be telling Mikey.

"Raph got taken by the foot." Donnie plainly stated as he continued to try and stop Mikey's bleeding.

"Thought so." Mikey mumbled as his eyes started fluttering.

"Wait, wha- no! Mikey you gotta stay awake." Donnie sounded extremely panicked, which alerted Leo.

"T-tired, bro." Mikey whispered as he closed his eyes. He fell limp in Donnie's hold.

"Ah!" Donnie exclaimed. "Leo, we need to get him back to the lair. Leo?"  
Leo was frozen in shock, just like Raph once was when Mikey was knocked out by snakeweed.

"For crying out loud. Leo!" Donnie shouted snapping Leo out of his thoughts. "Mikey needs you right now, so stop thinking this is all your fault because it's not. Get it together."  
Leo shook his head and nodded. Donnie was right, his little brother needed him right now. He couldn't stand there and gawp. Leo grabbed Mikey's legs and Donnie supported his torso, and they started their very careful journey back home.

 **TMNTTMNTMNTMNTMNTMNTMNT**

Raphael silently sat against his cell door waiting for something to happen. He'd cried so much his eyes were now dry. He didn't cry for himself, no he didn't give a shit _he_ got captured, but for his brothers. They were all in danger and one was practically on death's door.

Raph shuffled himself again, at least he could try and get comfortable in this godforsaken hell hole. He eventually gave up and frustratedly slammed his head back on the wall with a grunt. He closed his eyes, when suddenly he heard a soft whispering. Raph kept his eyes closed and attempted to focus on the voices. He had never heard the voices before so he assumed they were foot ninjas. From his sharp senses, he deducted they were just outside the room.

"I heard that the Shredder has prepared many torture rooms for the freaks." One of them said.

"Yeah, I helped with the first one, I think that's the purple turtle's one." The other one replied.  
Raph gasped. They had their own torture rooms?! He tried to focus more but the voices were getting weaker. He managed to hear one last word before the foot swept away. Raph couldn't believe they were going to do that to his second youngest brother. The thought of that made him punch the walls around him. He fell to his knees and let out an anguished cry as he thought about the last word he heard.

 _Whips._

 **TMNTTMNTMNTMNTMNTMNTMNT**

Leonardo and Donatello reached the lair without injuring their baby brother any further. Their hearts were beating for what could happen to not only him but their hothead as well.

"Sensei! Help!" Leo screamed as they reached the entrance.

"My son?" Came the rushed reply as Master Splinter poked his head out of the entrance.

"Sensei, please get my lab cleared! I need to help Mikey!" Donnie shouted as he took Mikey from Leo and made his way into the lab with Master Splinter hot on his heels.  
Leo watched as they left his sight; he couldn't move. He stared at the lab's slightly open door before he felt his knees buckle and he collapsed to the ground. He sat for a moment. Just a moment. Staring straight at his smart brother's lab. A single tear streamed from his sapphire pool and down his emerald cheek. And he just sat there.

The young turtle, on his knees, staring.

Thinking.

Unable to do anything else.

 **TMNTTMNTMNTMNTMNTMNTMNT**

Unable to do anything else.

Raphael just sat there. The young turtle, on his knees, staring.

Thinking.

A single tear streamed from his emerald pool and down his chartreuse cheek.

His thoughts started to get to him as he suddenly lashed out to his left; hitting the pale wall in anger.

No, rage. Pure unfiltered rage.

He thought about what had happened; his little brother, left on deaths door. He thought about what is happening; himself in an isolated cell, his brothers elsewhere. And he thought about what could happen; his brothers, joining him in his hellhole.

The hothead's fist sprung to the side once more, creating a mild dust from the old concrete. He was meant to be the protector, always there for his family even if he was a grumpy turtle most of the time. But he failed.

Raphael. The might. The protector. The strongest: emotionally and physically.

The failure.

Raphael couldn't cry anymore. He was drained and dehydrated, all he could do was think about his brothers. He didn't care for his own survival, he just wanted to make sure his brothers were safe.

But they weren't.

He had no idea what happened to Mikey. Did Leo and Donnie find him? Not to mention Shredder is after them.

The wall was struck again, adding to the small dust pile on the floor.

Yet as if he hit a button, the door to the prison swung open, revealing a rather smug, a rather fishy, Xever.

"Ah yes, my favourite _tortuga."_ He hissed as if he was a snake. "Locked in here alone, heh?"

Raphael growled; he'd had enough of this. "Fuck off, sushi boy"

"Aw that is no way to talk to me," Xever teased. "Especially as I am the one feeding you." He reached to his left and revealed a small bowl of rice and a plastic cup of water.

Raphael eyed the fish creeping towards his door. Within the short time it took him to reach it, the red clad turtle thought of many scenarios. He could reach out and grab Xever forcing him a headlock. He could politely ask about his brothers. He could stay silent. Raph thought of every possibility, but before he could decide, Fishface had left the food by his cell and was back in the doorway.

However, Xever didn't look the same. There was a shadow of guilt in his eyes. Raphael, who had already grabbed the rice, stared at him questioningly.

The fish cleared his throat. "I despise you turtles. And I cannot wait to see you in pain." Raphael scoffed and turned away, but Xever spoke again with more confidence. "But that pain should've waited until you are all here, not for it to happen on a rooftop with an unfair advantage."  
Raphael whipped his head to Xever, he was talking about Mikey!  
"I do not believe, or have, any honor. But the young one shouldn't suffer until he is here." Fishface turned and looked over his shoulder. "It has happened now, but the least I can say now is that he is with your other stupid brothers and it seems they went to get help."

With that, Xever slammed the door and left. Raphael couldn't believe it, Leo and Donnie had got his baby brother and they were somewhat safe. He felt himself relax despise his situation. He felt like could eat his rice in a fairly peaceful manner now.

Except the cockroach that he just picked up with his chopsticks.

Raphael, was no longer at peace, and the cockroach was now resting in pieces.

 **TMNTTMNTMNTMNTMNTMNTMNT**

After a few hours, a pacing Leonardo was met by a tired looking Donatello and a composed Sensei, who has his hand upon the latter's shoulder.

"Rest my son," His strong accent: a soothing melody to both turtles. "You have done well, I am very proud of you."

Donatello raised his glance to his father and with a small smile, he nodded and turned to walk to Leo. But as he got closer, he noticed a very familiar look on his eldest brother's face. Donatello tried to scowl but his facial muscles had lost all strength.

"Leo, I know that face. It is not your fault. Everything's going to be fine, Raphael is fighter and Mikey definitely takes that from him, you should get some rest too." Donnie placed his hand on Leo's shoulder but noticed his was staring in the lab's direction.

"Leo." Blue eyes snapped to meet copper ones. "He's stable and recovering. Come on, we can't plan, patrol, or help anything if we're tired."

Donnie started to walk to his room, but was suddenly stopped by a firm hand on his shoulder. A sheepish Leo was shuffling his feet, something he does when there's something partially embarrassing on his mind.

"Um, Don? You think I could stay with you tonight? Just in case, you know?" Leo's face scrunched as he instantly regretted it, but Donnie knew his brother and knew if anything happened to himself, Leo wouldn't be able to continue on, so Donnie simple smiled and nodded. Leo felt relived as he went to grab blankets and pillows to sleep on his younger brother's floor.

 **TMNTTMNTMNTMNTMNTMNTMNT**

Later in the night, or day for underground turtles, there was a small whimper from the Labatory. A shift in loose bedsheets, a crack of stiff joints, a creak from the metal frame he lay upon. But the most noticeable sound was the gentle "Raph" that echoed in the vast, isolated space.

Michelangelo's eyes snapped open. He was in the lab. His brothers had found him! How many brothers though? Was a certain red banded turtle still away from home?

The thought made his stomach turn, or was that the lack of pizza? Either way, the optimistic turtle felt uneasy and could only imaging what was in store for him and his family.

 **TMNTTMNTMNTMNTMNTMNTMNT**

 **I AM SO SORRY. I've been meaning to update for ages but a lot happened, school work caught up to me and I got a boyfriend (who is no longer hence why I have time) but ive really missed writing and I much prefer writing on the computer. SO whenever I am on my laptop I'm going to add a little bit of a chapter each time and hopefully that will build.**  
 **I AM STILL WRITING AND NOT INACTIVE, just be patient. I'm still so sorry, but thankyou for sticking with me.**


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